Since the first vials of the COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the Rio Grande Valley in December 2020, Gabriel Vasquez has been at the forefront, preparing doses for DHR Health’s vaccine clinic.
A pharmacy technician for DHR, Vasquez has seen the clinic through the busy times and the lulls as well as its transition to its new location on the DHR campus earlier this month.
In the lead up to the holidays, he said the number of people seeking vaccines had picked up again which he attributed to children being out of school and the border having been reopened to non-essential traffic.
“The border’s now open and the holidays, of course, so everybody’s on vacation so they’re just taking advantage of that and coming and getting it,” Vasquez said, adding that the spread of the new COVID-19 variant could be factor. “I think omicron played into it as well, the scare of omicron.”
The theory that the holidays or the omicron variant could have driven the increase in vaccinations is supported by data reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS, as the two most recent spikes were right before Thanksgiving and then in the first week of December, just after the first case of omicron was first reported in South Africa.
During the week of Nov. 8 through Nov. 14, vaccine administrations in the Valley jumped to 49,432 from the 34,954 administrations reported the previous week.
The next week, Nov. 15 through Nov. 21, vaccine administrations were nearly as high at 48,284.
Vaccinations dipped substantially the following week to just 32,958 but then, the week of Nov. 29 through Dec. 5, they jumped again to 57,064 vaccinations.
Despite the big hikes, the DHR clinic amended their schedule for the holidays, allowing the workers to off on Christmas unlike last year.
“Last time we worked during Christmas but it was rewarding. It was really rewarding working during Christmas because you got to see all these people come in,” Vasquez said. “It feels good, it feels good to be able to do that for the community.”
Sylvia Zapata, a medical assistant at DHR Health, is among the staff that administers the vaccine doses.
Over the previous few days, she’s seen a combination of older and young people come get their vaccine doses, mainly booster shots among adults and first doses for children.
“We’re thinking that a lot of family members, especially Hispanic families, wait to take that big step as a family,” Zapata said. “A lot of people are waiting to get their third doses but as well bringing their children with them.”
“It’s pretty big parties that we’re seeing,” she added, “and it’s actually pretty good and we feel good about that, seeing those amount of people coming in.”
They’ve also seen a few eldery people recently come in for their first dose, including a 100-year-individual.
“It was exciting to see them come out, finally get their vaccine after its been out for a year,” said Karla Quintanilla, medical assistant, who also administers the vaccine at the clinic. “Hopefully they keep coming, even if it’s their first, third, second dose — as long as they’re getting their vaccine and getting it done and being safe out there.”
Still, the work can be stressful.
“We’re here from 8 to 8, we’re working 12 hour shifts,” said Elyssa Elizondo, a certified nursing assistant who also administers vaccines. “We see so many things so it can be a little bit draining at times but it’s also very rewarding.”
Zapata added that it could also be emotionally draining.
“You see those people and you’re like ‘OK, it’s going to be a good day,’ because you see a huge line,” Zapata said, “but as soon as you get to that point of vaccination, a lot of the children, they start screaming.”
But they also saw the vaccination of young kids, which was authorized at the beginning of November, as a bright light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.
To maintain safety amongst themselves ahead of the holidays, Zapata said she and her cowokers rely on each other.
“We trust each other so when we come back we still have that precaution and those elements of safety within our own work zone,” she said. “So I feel, this year we’re more comfortable at least in a family gathering of 10 or 15.”
Outside of work, though, it’s been difficult for some of them to convince their family to get vaccinated.
“Personally, I’m the only one vaccinated in my family right now,” Elizondo said. “As much as I try to push it, they kind of stand on their own terms so … you can pull up as many articles as you want, as much research has been done, and I feel like there’s still people out there who are still hesitant about.”
However, they hope others will continue encouraging their families to get vaccinated.
“If there’s anything I’d want people to know is to get vaccinated, boosted and keep those masks on,” Elizondo said.
